LIGNET: UK's Missteps on Assange Put Embassies at Risk

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the news media from the balcony of the Ecuadoran embassy in London on Aug. 19. Assange is living inside the embassy after being granted political asylum while facing extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges. (Rosie Hallam/Getty Images)

The British government’s implicit threat that it could raid Ecuador’s embassy in London to seize Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was a serious mistake that allowed Assange and the leftist Ecuadoran government to use charges of British bullying to overshadow Swedish rape charges against Assange and possible American charges of compromising classified U.S. government documents. More important, however, may be the effect that the British threat to forcibly enter the Ecuadoran embassy may have in weakening international legal protections for embassies and consulates. To read the full story analysis from top intelligence experts at LIGNET.com, CLICK HERE.